this is one of the reasons we come here.

a collection of fruits in mid-july from jean-luc’s orchard: peach, fig, apricot, plum, quince, pomegranate, nectarine, apple, pear, and cherry pits (and notably absent is persimmon)

autignac, france

i am still getting teased for my slight overreaction to finding these silver dollar plant seed pods growing out of the top of a stone wall during a family outing. i gasped as if an intruder had just jumped out at me, and blurted, “seed pods!” in the middle of the street. my children have spent the last two days imitating me every time they walk by this plant in our living room. still, i mean, look at them. wouldn’t you gasp too?

money plant / monnaie du pape (lunaria annua)

saint-guilhem-le-désert, languedoc, france

the front door flew open this afternoon, and 10 year old joe came pounding up the steps. a jar. a jar. he needed a jar. he grabbed one and tore back down to the street. ten minutes later, he came back with a scorpion in a yogurt pot. i don’t know how he got the scorpion into the pot. i don’t want to know. i just know the scorpion in the jar became part of the family for a day, and we were treated to some extra dialogue and commentary from the young naturalist who had adopted this stray off the village street.

scorpion (rock scorpion?)

languedoc, france

here is your mandatory lavender photo from southern france. like a sunset view over a minnesota lake, it has been done to death, and yet is never less than spectacular in person. i am smelling lavender on my hands as i type this. it does not smell like a cliche.

lavender

autignac, france

there is a large rosemary shrub on our terrace. it is the size of a small bathtub. the leaves remind me of the spruce needles back home in minnesota. do you happen to remember the spruce needle assemblage i did last winter? it seemed fitting this summer to do a mediterranean equivalent with a local evergreen.

rosemary leaves

autignac, france